Accounting professionals' perceptions of accounting culture and fraudulent financial reporting in the age of sustainability: Case of Istanbul province

This study mainly aimed to examine the perceptions of Accounting Professionals-APs (Certified Accountant, Certified Public Accountant, Sworn-in Certified Public Accountant) working in Istanbul on accounting culture and fraudulent financial reporting. It also aimed to investigate whether there is a significant relationship between APs’ perceptions of accounting culture and fraudulent financial reporting, and whether these perceptions differ according to demographic characteristics. Methodologically, a descriptive online survey method covering a questionnaire was applied to collect data. The sample consisted of 314 APs operating in Istanbul. Data were analyzed with SPSS-22. The study revealed that there is a significant relationship between the perceptions of APs on accounting culture and fraudulent financial reporting. It also indicated that these perceptions differ according to demographic characteristics. In the light of subvalues of accounting culture, the perceptions of “The Flexibility of Accounting Culture versus Uniformity” and Professionalism versus Status quo” vary according to the gender. In this respect, it was determined that female professionals exhibited more professionalization and uniformity tendencies than men, while male professionals exhibited more flexibility and status quo tendencies compared to women. Furthermore, it was understood that other demographic characteristics (age, years of service, education level, title, number of clients) are not effective variables on the accounting culture perception. On the other hand, it was found that the perceptions of APs on fraudulent financial reporting differ according to demographic characteristics (such as gender, age, years of service and title), however, it does not differ according to the number of customers and education level. In other words, those characteristics do not have any effect on the perception of fraudulent financial reporting.